Blade angling device

ABSTRACT

A device having guide tubes which are mountable on slide members of a C-frame connecting a blade to a bulldozer. Slide blocks are mounted in the guide tubes and bracing arms, which extend rearwardly from corners of the blade, are pivotally secured to the slide blocks. The guide tubes and slide blocks both have holes which are placed in registration wen a locating pin is inserted in the path of a slide block as the block is moved along its guide tube in response to movement of the blade to the required angular setting. Locking bars associated with the two locating pins provided with the device are then inserted through registering holes to lock the slide blocks within the guide tubes and to support the bulldozer blade in a selected angular position.

United States Patent Lennea et al.

1151 5,555,559 1451 Apr. 18, 1972 [54] BLADE ANGLING DEVICE t Primary Examiner-Robert E. Pulfrey [72] Inventors gggsg l' g gg g 'g' g ggg Assistant Examiner-Stephen C. Pellegrino campbenRiver, BC. Canada Attorney-Fetherstonhaugh & Co. v [22] Filed: May 18, 1970 ABSTRACT [21] APPL 33,000 A device having guide tubes which are mountable on slide members of a C-frame connecting a blade to a bulldozer. Slide blocks are mounted in the guide tubes and bracing arms, [52] U.S. Cl ..l72/805, 287/58 which extend rearwardly from corners of the blade, are [51] Int. Cl. ..E02f 3/76 pivotally secured to the slide blocks. The guide tubes and slide [5 8] Field of Search ..l72/804-806, 801, blocks both have holes which are placed in registration wen 11 172/803 locating pin is inserted in the path of a slide block as the block is moved along its guide tube in response to movement of the I 56] References Cited blade to the required angular setting. Locking bars associated with the two locating pins provided with the device are then UNITED STATES PATENTS inserted through registering holes to lock the slide blocks within the uidc tubes and to su ort the bulldozer blade in a 2,198,147 4/1940 Austin 172/805 Selected anggularposmm pp 3,400,767 9/1968 l-lermiz ..172/805 3,439,752 4/ 1969 Coontz 172/805 7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures fl l l l L J i T T T T T T T T T "I I8 I '--u I 20 I 1 I4 2/ To I l L- z r T J l l L J P'ATENTEUAPR 18 I972 3, 656,559

sum 1 BF 2 INVENTOQS ROBERT W. LENNEA ROBERT H. HEAVENOR gummy/ 4m.

BLADE ANGLING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION of travel of the vehicle. Often it is necessary to level or do similar work by shifting material laterally of the path of travel and this is done by swinging the blade to a suitable angle so that the earth is moved to one side as the dozer travels for ward.

Some manufacturers provide auxiliary hydraulic equipment to power the blade angling mechanism but this often necessitates the use of still further equipment to lock the blade in operating position. Arrangements of this type will give the desired results under ideal conditions but bulldozers are often required to work in snow, ice, heavy mud or dust and this can cause frequent breakdowns of the auxiliary equipment which usually is fully exposed and therefore vulnurable to damage. Such auxiliary equipment must be serviced at regular intervals and this is considered by many bulldozer operators as a serious disadvantage quite apart from the initial cost of such equipment.

It has been suggested before that a solution to this problem might be do dispense with the auxiliary power equipment entirely and simply use pins which are placed manually in holes formed in some of the blade angling parts. Attempts have been made to use such pin and hole angling means but hitherto many of the advantages gained by the simplified apparatus have been offset by difficulties encountered in their construction and operation. A large bulldozer being operated to push a heavy blade through weighty or tangled material develops tremendous forces which must be resisted at times by a single pin and associated parts. This means that the associated parts and the pin must also be massive and sturdily constructed if failure of these parts is to be avoided. The required strength can be provided at increased cost but the bulldozer operator then is faced with the need to manipulate the extra large pin and particularly the problem of aligning the hole which received the pin. Normally the operator is required to angle the blade without assistance and this means he frequently has to dismount from the machine in an effort to achieve proper hole alignment by trial and error. This is a tedious and time consuming task which is objected to so strongly by many operators who are concerned about the resulting loss of operating time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION We have overcome many of the problems inherent in the pin and hole method of angling a bulldozer blade by providing a device of a simple, economical and lightweight construction, which device is fully capable of withstanding the considerable forces developed by an operating bulldozer. A particularly simple yet extremely effective means is provided for placing the pin receiving holes of the device in registration with one another. The adjustment of the blade to any required angle can be done by the tractor driver working alone and it is only necessary for him to leave the controls twice to do so, once to prepare. the device for the required angular setting and a second time to lock the angle blade against movement away from the selected setting. The device includes a combined locking bar and locating pin with one part serving as a support for the other when that other part is in use on the device, thus reducing the risk of the parts being dropped into snow or mud which might result in the loss of these parts and at least would delay the bulldozing operation. The present device can readily be adapted for use on most models of bulldozers currently on the market without the need for extensive changes to various components of the machine and only a minimum amount of extra servicing is required to keep the added parts in proper working order.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan of a bulldozer fitted with a blade angling device in accordance with the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the device,

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation, with parts being shown in section,

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the slide block, and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the locking bar and locating pm.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIG. 1, the numeral 10 indicates generally a bulldozer comprising a tractor 11 having crawler tracks 12. A heavy blade 14 extends across the front of the machine 11 and normally a C-shaped frame 16 is used to secure the bulldozer blade to the sides of the support structure (not shown) on which the crawler tracks 12 are mounted. C-frame 16 has parallel side members 17 and a horizontally curved front member 18. A vertically disposed pivot pin 20 extends through the front member 18 and also through a rear bracket 21 carried by the center of the blade 14. Thus, blade 14 is able to swing in a horizontal plane about the axis of the pivot pin 20. Other rear brackets 23 are provided, one near each rear corner of the blade 14, and these brackets are each fitted with a vertical pivot pin 24. Each pin 24 serves as a connection for a rearwardly projecting bracing arm 25. The rear ends of each bracing arm 25 is attached to an adjacent side member 17 by one of the present devices which device is generally indicated by the numeral 30.

The blade angling device 30, as shown best in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, comprises a guide tube 32 which preferably is a length of steel pipe having a bore 33 which may be some 3 inches or more in diameter. This cylindrical guide tube 32 is fitted with reinforcing flanges 35 which are welded or otherwise secured to said tube and also to top wall 17A of the side member. In FIG. 3, it will best be seen that the longitudinally spaced flanges 35 are offset from the center of the tube 32 and also that this tube is supported by the flanges a short distance above the wall 17A. Ends 36 and 37 of the tube are open and are buttressed by block 38 and 39 which are also welded in position. Thus, the thick-walled tube 32 is firmly secured to the side member 17 yet the construction of the parts thus far described is not unduly heavy.

Tube 32 is provided with a slot 42 which extends into the bore 33 and runs from open end 36 to open end 37. The slot 42 is located in the center of the tube 32 and on the outer side thereof. Since the flanges 35 are offset from the tube as shown in FIG. 3, the longitudinal slot 42 is not obstructed by said flanges. The flanges otherwise encircle the tube to prevent said tube from being opened out at the slot or dislodged from the side member 17.

Formed in the guide tube 32 is a plurality of locking holes 45. These holes 45 are arranged in vertically aligned pairs with one such pair being located alongside front face 35A of a flange. The holes 45 are rectangular as viewed from above and their longest sides are perpendicular to the flange faces 35A, which faces form one of the short sides of the openings. In FIG. 4, the vertical axis of a pair of openings 45 is indicated by chain dotted line 46. Each reinforcing flange has a rear face 35B and the vertical plane of this rear face is indicated by the chain dotted line 47 in FIG. 4. It will be noted that face 358 is spaced from the axis 46 a distance indicated by the letter D.

Referring now particularly to FIG. 4, the guide tube 32 has a number of locating holes 50 which are disposed one alongside the rear face 358 of each reinforcing flange. The holes 50 are formed in the top of the guide tube 32 only and preferably said locating holes are circular.

The spacing of the locking holes 45 along the length of guide tube is determined, of course, by the angular settings which are required for the blade 14. Assuming that it is desired the blade being adjustable increments of say, 10, then each hole 45 is spaced from an adjacent locking hole a distance which will provide for this particular angular adjustment of the blade. By way of example, only locking holes 45 have been shown in the guide tube 32 and it is then possible to swing the blade 14 from the position shown in FIG. 1, where it is at right angles to the path of travel of the tractor, to four other selected positions where the blade is disposed at either or to the right or left from the original right angular position.

Slidably mounted in the guide tube 32 is a cylindrical block 54, see particularly FIGS. 5 and 6. Slide block 54 is provided with a vertical locking hole 55 which is the same rectangular shape as the locking holes 45 in the guide tube. Slide block 54 has a rear end 56 and the vertical axis of the locking hole 55 is spaced from this end a distance equal to the distance indicated by the letter D in FIG. 4. The rectangular hole 55 is the same size as the similarly shaped locking holes 45 in the guide tube.

A laterally projecting rib-like member 58 is secured to one side of the slide block 54, which member extends freely through the slot 42 in the guide tube. Member 58 is included in means generally indicated at 60 for securing the slide block to the rear end of the adjacent pair of bracing arms 25. Thus, as the blade 14 is moved to one of the various angular settings, the blade movement is transmitted through the bracing arm and the connecting means 60 to the slide block 54 which then is caused to move back or forth within the guide tube 32.

In order to ensure that the connecting means 60 has the strength needed to withstand the considerable forces which are developed by the operating bulldozer we construct said means as shown best in FIGS. 4 and 5. Member 58 is provided with an integrally fonned transverse part 61 which extends across front end 62 of the slide block 54, this part as well as said member being firmly secured to the slide block 54 preferably by means of welding. This construction prevents the member 58 from moving longitudinally of the slide block 54 and otherwise securely locks it thereto.

A heavily constructed coupler 65 is secured to member 58, this coupler having a cylindrical body 67 and an eye 68. Side edge 69 of the member 58 and end face 70 of the cylindrical body 67 have corresponding notches 71 and 72 respectively. These notches 71 and 72 form a joint between the coupler 65 and the member 58 and the two parts are also welded together to provide a particularly strong connection therebetween. In this instance, the eye 68 receives rear end 25A of the bracing arm 25 with said end being suitably secured within the eye by means generally indicated by the numeral 74 in FIG. 2 only. Normally, each arm 25 is reinforced by an auxiliary bracing arm 76 (FIG. 2 only) and the forward end of this latter arm (which end is not shown in the drawings) is also pivotally secured to the rear face of the blade 14 in the same manner as the corresponding end of the main bracing arm 25. Arm 76 has a rear end 76A which is secured to arm 25 by a bracket 77 and pivot pin 78 as shown in FIG. 2.

The blade angling device includes a locking bar 80, see particularly FIG. 6. A rectangular piece of good quality metal is used to form the bar 80 and the size of said bar is such that it will closely fit the locking holes 45 and 55. The length of the locking bar 80 is slightly greater than the outside diameter of the guide tube 32.

Means generally indicated at 88 is provided for locating the slide block 54 in the required position within the guide tube 32. As illustrated in the drawings, the means 88 comprises a cylindrical locating pin 89 which is secured to one end of the locking bar 80. The pin 89 extends across the center of the bar end to project an equal distance from each side face of said bar. Thus, the locating pin 89 serves as a handle for the locking bar and, when it is necessary to use said pin, the bar itself can be gripped and used as a handle for the locating pin.

The blade angling device on both sides of the bulldozer are used, of course, to secure the blade 14 in any selected position. When the bulldozer is operated with the blade at right angles to its path of travel, (FIG. 1), the locking bars 80 are mounted in the holes 45 at the center of the guide tube 32. At this time, the pins 89 rest on the top of the guide tube 32 so that the bars 80 cannot drop completely through the registering holes 45 and 55 in which they are lodged. The bars 80 have their rear edges bearing against the adjacent reinforcing flanges 35 and, since they are fairly heavy and are a reasonably snug fit in the holes, there is little likelihood of their becoming accidentally dislodged from the guide tube. As the bulldozer is operated to push the blade 14 into a pile of dirt or the like, the several parts of the device are required to take very large thrust forces and these forces must all be resisted by the locking bars 80. However, the width of the bars 80 is more than sufficient to resist shearing as the blocks 54 are thrust rearwardly and said bars are buttressed by the flanges 35 in such a way as to provide a firm and positive stop for the slide blocks 54.

Assuming the tractor operator decides to angle the blade 14 10 to his left, he does so by first removing both locking bars 80 from the guide tube 32. He rotates the left bar 80 and places it on top of the guide tube 32 as shown by dotted lines in FIG. 4 and so that the locking pin 89 enters the hole 50 spaced one to the rear of the center of the guide tube. The bar 80 on the right side of the machine is not actually used for this 10 setting to the left but, for safe keeping, the right bar may be placed in the same position on the guide tube with the locating pin 89 thereof projecting into a hole 50 to the rear of the right slide block 54. Block 54 on the right side moves forwardly when the blade is angled as described and therefore the right locking bar 80 can conveniently be stored in this positron.

The operator then climbs back into the cab of the machine 11 and drives the bulldozer l0 forward to butt the left corner of the blade 14 into an obstruction. This swings the blade 14 about the pivot pin 20 and pushes the left bracing arm 25 and the slide block 54 connected thereto to the rear. The locating pin 89 on the left side previously was disposed in the path of the rearwardly moving block 54 and, when the rear end 56 of said block contacts this pin, the guide block 54 is brought to a halt with the locking hole 55 therein registering with the vertically aligned pair of locking holes 45 in the guide tube. The bar 80 on the left is then raised to remove the locating pin 89 which acted as a stop and said bar is then inserted into the registering holes 45 and 55. On the right side of the vehicle 10, the bar 80 is moved forward and is inserted into the registering holes 45 and 55 which also were brought into registration when the slide block 54 on the left side was halted.

The blade 14 thus is adjusted so as to be disposed at an angle of 10 to the left and the blade can be driven forward to urge the material being bulldozed to the left. By following a similar procedure, the dozer operator can adjust his blade to any one of the angular settings provided for in this particular embodiment of the invention.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent we have provided a simple yet effective means of setting a bulldozer blade to its required angle relative to the path of travel of the tractor. There is no need for the operator to climb down ofi the machine to remove and reinsert the locking bars 80 and locating pins 89 since this can be done while standing on the crawler tracks 12. The tractor itself provides the power required to angle the blade and the operator does not require assistance to either manhandle the blade 14 or to operate the device 30. The device can be operated quite readily under almost any conditions and the extremely rugged yet lightly constructed device is fully capable of withstanding the abuse to which it is subjected.

We claim:

1. A device for angling a blade pivotally secured to a C- frame of a bulldozer, said C-frame having side members, and a bracing arm pivotally connecting a corner of the blade to each side member; comprising a guide tube mounted on each side member to extend longitudinally thereof, said guide tubes each having a longitudinal slot and a plurality of locking holes spaced at selected intervals along the length of said guide tube, a slide block mounted in each guide tube and having a locking hole, connecting means for securing a rear end of each bracing arm to a slide block including a member projecting through a longitudinal slot, locating means attachable to each guide tube in the path of the slide block therein to halt said slide block in a selected position with locking holes of the guide tube and slide block in register, and a locking bar enterable through the registering locking holes to lock each slide block against movement within its guide tube.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, in which said locating means comprises a locating pin secured to one end of each locking bar to extend transversely thereof, said guide tubes each having a locating hole adjacent each locking hole, said locating pins each being enterable into a selected one of the locating holes to be engaged by an end of a slide block as the bulldozer blade is moved to a selected angle.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1, and including a reinforcing flange secured to each guide tube adjacent each locking hole therein, said locking bars each abutting a reinforcing flange when lodged in locking holes of the guide tube and slide block.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3, in which said reinforcing flanges are secured to the side members to support the guide tubes spaced thereabove, said locking holes in the guide tubes being arranged in vertically aligned pairs whereby the locking bars project completely through said guide tubes.

5. A device for angling a blade pivotally secured to a C- frame of a bulldozer, said C-frame having side members, and a bracing an'n pivotally connecting a comer of the blade to each side member, comprising a guide tube extending longitudinally of each side member, transverse reinforcing flanges supporting each guide tube above its side member, said guide tubes each having a longitudinal slot and a plurality of locking holes, said locking holes being arranged in verticallyaligned pairs spaced along the length of the guide tubes at intervals corresponding to a number of angular settings of the blade, said reinforcing flanges being similarly spaced along the length of the guide tubes with each pair of locking holes having a reinforcing flange at the rear ends thereof, a slide block mounted in each guide tube and having a locking hole, connecting means for securing a rear end of each bracing arm to a slide block including a member projecting through a longitudinal slot, a locking bar for each slide block and having a locating pin extending across one end thereof, said guide tubes having locating holes one adjacent each locking hole and separated therefrom by a reinforcing flange, said locating pins each being enterable into a selected one of the locating holes to halt a rearwardly moving slide block with its locking hole in register with a pair of locking holes of a guide tube, and said locking bars each being insertable through the registering locking holes to abut a reinforcing flange and lock a slide against movement within its guide tube.

6. A device as claimed in claim 5, inwhich said member of each connecting means has an integral part extending across the front end of its slide block.

7. A device as claimed in claim 6, and including buttress blocks secured to each side member to abut opposite ends of a guide tube. 

1. A device for angling a blade pivotally secured to a C-frame of a bulldozer, said C-frame having side members, and a bracing arm pivotally connecting a corner of the blade to each side member; comprising a guide tube mounted on each side member to extend longitudinally thereof, said guide tubes each having a longitudinal slot and a plurality of locking holes spaced at selected intervals along the length of said guide tube, a slide block mounted in each guide tube and having a locking hole, connecting means for securing a rear end of each bracing arm to a slide block including a member projecting through a longitudinal slot, locating means attachable to each guide tube in the path of the slide block therein to halt said slide block in a selected position with locking holes of the guide tube and slide block in register, and a locking bar enterable through the registering locking holes to lock each slide block against movement within its guide tube.
 2. A device as claimed in claim 1, in which said locating means comprises a locating pin secured to one end of each locking bar to extend transversely thereof, said guide tubes each having a locating hole adjacent each locking hole, said locating pins each being enterable into a selected one of the locating holes to be engaged by an end of a slide block as the bulldozer blade is moved to a selected angle.
 3. A device as claimed in claim 1, and including a reinforcing flange secured to each guide tube adjacent each locking hole therein, said locking bars each abutting a reinforcing flange when lodged in locking holes of the guide tube and slide block.
 4. A device as claimed in claim 3, in which said reinforcing flanges are secured to the side members to support the guide tubes spaced thereabove, said locking holes in the guide tubes being arranged in vertically aligned pairs whereby the locking bars project completely through said guide tubes.
 5. A device for angling a blade pivotally secured to a C-frame of a bulldozer, said C-frame having side members, and a bracing arm pivotally connecting a corner of the blade to each Side member, comprising a guide tube extending longitudinally of each side member, transverse reinforcing flanges supporting each guide tube above its side member, said guide tubes each having a longitudinal slot and a plurality of locking holes, said locking holes being arranged in vertically aligned pairs spaced along the length of the guide tubes at intervals corresponding to a number of angular settings of the blade, said reinforcing flanges being similarly spaced along the length of the guide tubes with each pair of locking holes having a reinforcing flange at the rear ends thereof, a slide block mounted in each guide tube and having a locking hole, connecting means for securing a rear end of each bracing arm to a slide block including a member projecting through a longitudinal slot, a locking bar for each slide block and having a locating pin extending across one end thereof, said guide tubes having locating holes one adjacent each locking hole and separated therefrom by a reinforcing flange, said locating pins each being enterable into a selected one of the locating holes to halt a rearwardly moving slide block with its locking hole in register with a pair of locking holes of a guide tube, and said locking bars each being insertable through the registering locking holes to abut a reinforcing flange and lock a slide against movement within its guide tube.
 6. A device as claimed in claim 5, inwhich said member of each connecting means has an integral part extending across the front end of its slide block.
 7. A device as claimed in claim 6, and including buttress blocks secured to each side member to abut opposite ends of a guide tube. 